Typically, there are various processing stages associated with creating and executing a computer program. For example, the source code of a program is written in a programming language of choice by a programmer. The source code is then compiled by a compiler or interpreted by an interpreter compatible with the programming language of the program to generate machine code. The machine code is then loaded onto a particular platform designed to run the machine code, and the machine code is executed.
With some programming languages, the processing stages described above are slightly modified. For instance, with the JAVA programming language, the stages are modified to allow a write once, run anywhere environment. To provide such an environment, the JAVA source code is both compiled and interpreted. In particular, the JAVA compiler compiles the code and generates an intermediate language, referred to as the JAVA byte codes. The byte codes, which are packaged in a *.class file, are then interpreted and executed on a computer that is equipped with a JAVA Virtual Machine.
In order to successfully run a program, the program needs access to any externally referenced interfaces of the program. If the program does not have access to one or more of its interfaces, then during execution, the program receives a runtime error, such as JAVA.lang.NoClassDefFoundError for JAVA programs. If an error is indicated, the appropriate interface is supplied, and the program is run again. This process is repeated until no more errors are received.
The above procedure eventually determines whether the appropriate interfaces are packaged with the program, but such a procedure requires the program to be run in a runtime environment, possibly multiple times, and tends to be time consuming. Thus, a need exists for an enhanced capability for detecting externally referenced interfaces. In particular, a need exists for a capability that detects externally referenced interfaces prior to executing the program at runtime.